Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.13.

A number of research firms have weighed in on VALE. ValuEngine raised shares of Vale from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Vale from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America raised shares of Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Exane BNP Paribas raised shares of Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th.

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NYSE VALE traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $12.17. 30,527,676 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 25,447,313. Vale has a 1-year low of $10.20 and a 1-year high of $16.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.54 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $9.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.31 billion. Vale had a return on equity of 21.11% and a net margin of 9.30%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. American Beacon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Vale by 360.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 4,650 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at $95,000. Finally, Advisor Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the 2nd quarter valued at $135,000. 18.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vale

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. It operates through Ferrous Minerals, Coal, and Base Metals segments. The Ferrous Minerals segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, ferroalloys, and others ferrous products and services; and provides related logistic services.